Federal Emergency Funds Authorized For Michigan Power Outage Response
Release Date: September 24, 2003
Release Number: HQ-03-212
» More Information on Michigan Power Outage
Washington, DC - The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that President Bush has authorized the release of limited emergency funds for Michigan to help cover some of the costs incurred in responding to last month's power outage.
Michael D. Brown, FEMA Director and Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response at Homeland Security, said the President took the action under an emergency declaration signed last night following a review of the agency's analysis of the state's request for federal assistance.
According to Brown, the emergency declaration authorizes FEMA to provide up to $5 million in federal funds to reimburse the state and affected local governments at 75 percent federal share for the costs of emergency measures taken to save lives, protect property, and insure public health and safety during the period of August 14-17.
Immediately after the declaration, Brown designated the following 14 counties eligible for the assistance: Calhoun, Eaton, Genesee, Hillsdale, Ingham, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. He indicated that additional designations may be made later if requested by the state and warranted by further evaluation.
Ron Sherman of FEMA was named by Brown to coordinate the federal assistance.
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages Citizens Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 24-Sep-2003 11:40:15